Juan Williams, Exit Stage Left!

There's nobody out there, except for Sarah Palin, who can absolutely dominate the stage, and she can't stand on the intellectual stage with Obama.

After all, according to Williams, Governor Palin is nothing but a centerfold for conservative men, right? What should we expect? How in the world could a state college educated female and former journalist carry a candle to a Ivy League educated male president?

However, perhaps this time Williams is right. Governor Palin and President Obama can't stand on the same stage. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post describing the difference between Governor Palin's intelligence and President Obama's intellectualism:

The critics of Governor Palin’s intelligence miss the distinct difference between intelligence and intellectualism. Intelligence involves the ability to process and apply information in a successful manner. By comparison, Thomas Sowell, an esteemed economist, author, and favorite of Governor Palin’s, describes intellectualism: “at the core of the notion of an intellectual is the dealer in ideas, as such–not the personal application of ideas”. In 2009, Sowell wrote a book entitled Intellectuals and Society where he highlights how the role of “intellectuals” have negatively influenced all aspects of society–from economics to law to the media. The common thread that runs through each aspect that Sowell covers in his book is that intellectuals feel that they are needed to dictate to the unwashed masses how they should conduct their lives. This is where you get the intellectual politicians who feel that they should control the economy through regulations, taxation, and the like, and this is also where you get the pontificating pundits who feel that they know best. After all, they have the Ivy League education and the self-declared credentials to do so, right?

In just under 2 years as president, Obama has ushered in the government takeover of the healthcare, college loan, banking, and internet industries, in addition to extending the extensive government involvement in the auto industry that he supported during President Bush's administration. President Obama has given further regulatory control to unelected agencies like the EPA, FCC, and FDA. He has added more to the national deficit in 2 years than his predecessors did in more than 200 years. His stimulus package led to over 10% unemployment, when it was promised to prevent unemployment from going over 8%. President Obama kowtowed (or as I like to call it, bowtowed) to both America's enemies and union bosses. He pushed for a treaty with Russia that allows Russia to continue to produce nuclear weapons while America must halt weapon production; all the while reducing funding for missile defense. He mishandled America's most destructive environmental disaster in history by blaming the previous administration for his own appointees' failures. He is joined with foreign nations in suing the state of Arizona for desiring to enforce federal border security and immigration laws.

As Governor, Sarah Palin put $5 billion in state savings and decreased state spending by more than 9%. She reduced earmark requests by 80%. She stands for smaller government and reduced intervention by unelected, appointed bureaucrats. She stood firmly against the stimulus package and called for President Obama to veto the bill. She stood against cuts to missile defense and called for the Senate to not verify the START treaty. She called for the President to turn away from his "enemy centric" foreign policy. She stood for oversight of the oil industry and federal responsibility in cleaning up the oil spill, rather than burdensome, job killing regulations and drilling moratoriums. She stood with Governor Brewer in a desire to secure the border.

Governor Palin has private sector experience as a journalist, fisherwoman, and small business owner in addition to nearly twenty years of political experience between the city council, mayor's office, Oil and Gas Regulator, and Governor. President Obama has experience as a community organizer, state senator, and US Senator. By the time President Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Governor Palin already had three times as much executive experience as President Obama currently has. She has had to balance a budget as a small business owner and a governor, and she has understood the importance of handling both prudently and responsibility. President Obama established a deficit commission after he signed legislation that added more than a trillion dollars to the deficit--willfully oblivious to the effects of his lack of executive experience.

If you juxtapose President Obama's experience, policies, and record against Governor Palin's experience, stances and record, then I suppose Williams is right. Governor Palin cannot stand on the "intellectual" stage with Obama, and rightfully so. While President Obama' s supposed intellect has made us a less secure nation in every sense of the word, Governor Palin's gubernatorial record and stances would lead America to a more financial stable and a more secure nation.

Governor Palin stands on the stage of common sense, practicality, and smart governance. Juan Williams and President Obama can exit stage left.